Wanganui JC 17 September 2015 – R 4 – Chair, Mr P Williams
ID: JCA14802
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wanganui JC - 17 September 2015
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMoffatt
Race Date:
2015/09/17
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of race 4, the “Jolt Coffee House Restricted Open Steeplechase” Information A6822 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr N Goodwin under Rule 638(1)(d). The Information stated “Mr Studd allowed his mount to shift in with approximately 600m to run and caused checks to “Brushman” and “Mister DeeJay”. Mr Studd, a licensed Class D rider, signed the Information stating he admitted the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was correct and also that he understood the Rule under which he was charged.
Rule 638 (1) (d) states “A rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be .....careless”.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Goodwin, using the available films of the race from prior to jumping the fence near the 600m, identified Mr Studd riding “Carinya” racing in 3rd position some 4 horse widths out from the running rail. He said as “Carinya” jumped the fence it jumped sideways and drifted further out from the running rail. On landing Mr Studd shifted inwards under a reasonably hard ride to get back onto the line he was on prior to jumping the fence. However, after jumping the fence Ms Farr on “Brushman” who was behind Mr Studd moved into the gap created by the outward movement of “Carinya”. As she moved into the gap Mr Studd’s inward movement caused crowding to “Brushman” which was then dictated inwards onto “Mr DeeJay” which had to be steadied. Mr Goodwin said Ms Farr was entitled to move into the gap created by the outward movement of “Carinya” and Mr Studd was not the required distance clear when he moved back inwards.
Mr Studd said the fence at the 600m was a tricky fence to jump but agreed the horse had jumped out when going over the fence. He said as he was positioning his horse back closer to the rail where he had been prior to the fence he heard a call from Ms Farr. He said he thought he had allowed enough room for Ms Farr and was surprised she had decided to move into the gap when she did rather than perhaps waiting for a few more strides to see if he was going to move back closer to the rail as he had been prior to jumping the fence. He conceded Ms Farr was entitled to go for the gap but emphasized that he did straighten his mount when he heard the call rather than progress on down towards the running rail.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Goodwin said he agreed with Mr Studd that it was “mildly surprising” that Ms Farr had moved into the gap created by the outward movement of Mr Studd’s horse and that a more experienced rider may have held off making that move for a few more strides to ensure the gap was still there. Nevertheless Mr Studd had been careless in moving inwards and the stewards viewed the severity of the breach below the mid range. Mr Goodwin also added that after viewing the films again during the hearing it was more correct to say the affected horses were crowded rather than, as stated on the Information, checked. He said Mr Studd had not breached the careless riding rule in the last 12 months and this was a very good record. Mr Goodwin said a period of suspension was an appropriate penalty but given there was only one more meeting with jumps races in 2015 he accepted that determining a penalty was not straightforward.
Mr Studd said he had been riding in New Zealand for 4 years and confirmed he had not breached this rule in the previous 12 months. He said there was only 1 more meeting for jumps riders this season with 4 jumps races at Te Aroha on Friday 25 September and he was very keen to ride at that meeting. He accepted that day was beyond the 7 day deferral period but said he was keen to end what had been a good season for him. He said that he was going to ride for his boss, Trainer Murray Baker, at Te Aroha and did not want to spend the day sitting in the stands. He said he already had 3 confirmed rides at the meeting and was confident he would get another. He said he understood that a possible penalty was a suspension and would be happy to take one at the beginning of the next jumps season in 2016. Mr Goodwin said the Stewards would not support any penalty imposed applying from the beginning of the next jumps season.
To questions from the Committee Mr Studd said that the riding fee for jumps riders was $190 and that his only other income was from riding track work.
To assist Mr Studd in understanding the penalty options available to the Committee he was advised that that Committee would not consider any penalty that would apply from the beginning of the next jumps season. He was then told that the three options available were a suspension, a suspension and a fine or a fine. Mr Studd said his preferred option was a fine only as this would mean he could ride at Te Aroha on 25 September.
Mr Goodwin indicated that given the unusual circumstances of this matter and also that, as an experienced jumps rider, Mr Studd’s services would be in demand for the last jumps meeting of the year, any of the 3 options proposed by the Committee would be supported by the Stewards.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Studd is a Class D rider and today is the penultimate meeting for jumps riders in 2015 with the final meeting of the year being at Te Aroha on Friday 25 September. These factors have meant the Committee has spent considerable time determining what is an appropriate penalty for Mr Studd’s breach of the Rule.
The Committee has reviewed the films of the race and believe the severity of the breach is at the low end and agree with Mr Goodwin that the incident caused crowding to the two horses on the inside of Mr Studd rather than them being checked. We also note that when Mr Studd heard Ms Farr call out he immediately straightened his mount rather than continue his inward movement. Whilst Mr Studd did clearly shift in after jumping the fence near the 600m we have some sympathy with the view that Ms Farr surprisingly moved into the gap created by that outward movement when a more experienced rider may have waited to see if Mr Studd was going to move back inwards on landing. That said she was entitled to take the gap.
Mr Studd is a senior jumps rider and has an exceptional riding record having not been charged with a breach of this Rule since April 2014. The Committee is aware there have been relatively few Class D riders charged with breaches of this Rule in 2015 and that penalties imposed upon these riders are in the main, given their limited riding opportunities, not as severe as those imposed on Class A and B jockeys.
Clearly a penalty must be imposed and it must fairly reflect the severity of the breach of the Rule. However, the timing of today’s charge means the Committee is faced with a highly unusual situation and we have carefully considered the three penalty options available to us. If a suspension were to be imposed the Committee believes a suspension of more than 1 day is appropriate. Given we do not agree that any period of suspension should include part of or commence at the start of the 2016 jumps season we have discounted this option. In considering the remaining two penalty options we believe the low level severity of the incident and other mitigating factors detailed above do not justify Mr Studd not being permitted to ride on the last day of his racing season and we have therefore discounted the option of a suspension and a fine.
We have therefore decided on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty. In doing so the Committee wishes to very clearly state that this penalty imposed on Mr Studd should not in any way be seen by others in the industry as setting a precedent when Committees are considering the imposition of penalties in the future. The penalty imposed on Mr Studd reflects the unique set of circumstances before us today.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 7d86e1013d821225caca59b162f78372
informantnumber: A 6822
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Riding
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 18/09/2015
hearing_title: Wanganui JC 17 September 2015 - R 4 - Chair, Mr P Williams
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 4, the “Jolt Coffee House Restricted Open Steeplechase” Information A6822 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr N Goodwin under Rule 638(1)(d). The Information stated “Mr Studd allowed his mount to shift in with approximately 600m to run and caused checks to “Brushman” and “Mister DeeJay”. Mr Studd, a licensed Class D rider, signed the Information stating he admitted the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was correct and also that he understood the Rule under which he was charged.
Rule 638 (1) (d) states “A rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be .....careless”.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Goodwin, using the available films of the race from prior to jumping the fence near the 600m, identified Mr Studd riding “Carinya” racing in 3rd position some 4 horse widths out from the running rail. He said as “Carinya” jumped the fence it jumped sideways and drifted further out from the running rail. On landing Mr Studd shifted inwards under a reasonably hard ride to get back onto the line he was on prior to jumping the fence. However, after jumping the fence Ms Farr on “Brushman” who was behind Mr Studd moved into the gap created by the outward movement of “Carinya”. As she moved into the gap Mr Studd’s inward movement caused crowding to “Brushman” which was then dictated inwards onto “Mr DeeJay” which had to be steadied. Mr Goodwin said Ms Farr was entitled to move into the gap created by the outward movement of “Carinya” and Mr Studd was not the required distance clear when he moved back inwards.
Mr Studd said the fence at the 600m was a tricky fence to jump but agreed the horse had jumped out when going over the fence. He said as he was positioning his horse back closer to the rail where he had been prior to the fence he heard a call from Ms Farr. He said he thought he had allowed enough room for Ms Farr and was surprised she had decided to move into the gap when she did rather than perhaps waiting for a few more strides to see if he was going to move back closer to the rail as he had been prior to jumping the fence. He conceded Ms Farr was entitled to go for the gap but emphasized that he did straighten his mount when he heard the call rather than progress on down towards the running rail.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Goodwin said he agreed with Mr Studd that it was “mildly surprising” that Ms Farr had moved into the gap created by the outward movement of Mr Studd’s horse and that a more experienced rider may have held off making that move for a few more strides to ensure the gap was still there. Nevertheless Mr Studd had been careless in moving inwards and the stewards viewed the severity of the breach below the mid range. Mr Goodwin also added that after viewing the films again during the hearing it was more correct to say the affected horses were crowded rather than, as stated on the Information, checked. He said Mr Studd had not breached the careless riding rule in the last 12 months and this was a very good record. Mr Goodwin said a period of suspension was an appropriate penalty but given there was only one more meeting with jumps races in 2015 he accepted that determining a penalty was not straightforward.
Mr Studd said he had been riding in New Zealand for 4 years and confirmed he had not breached this rule in the previous 12 months. He said there was only 1 more meeting for jumps riders this season with 4 jumps races at Te Aroha on Friday 25 September and he was very keen to ride at that meeting. He accepted that day was beyond the 7 day deferral period but said he was keen to end what had been a good season for him. He said that he was going to ride for his boss, Trainer Murray Baker, at Te Aroha and did not want to spend the day sitting in the stands. He said he already had 3 confirmed rides at the meeting and was confident he would get another. He said he understood that a possible penalty was a suspension and would be happy to take one at the beginning of the next jumps season in 2016. Mr Goodwin said the Stewards would not support any penalty imposed applying from the beginning of the next jumps season.
To questions from the Committee Mr Studd said that the riding fee for jumps riders was $190 and that his only other income was from riding track work.
To assist Mr Studd in understanding the penalty options available to the Committee he was advised that that Committee would not consider any penalty that would apply from the beginning of the next jumps season. He was then told that the three options available were a suspension, a suspension and a fine or a fine. Mr Studd said his preferred option was a fine only as this would mean he could ride at Te Aroha on 25 September.
Mr Goodwin indicated that given the unusual circumstances of this matter and also that, as an experienced jumps rider, Mr Studd’s services would be in demand for the last jumps meeting of the year, any of the 3 options proposed by the Committee would be supported by the Stewards.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Studd is a Class D rider and today is the penultimate meeting for jumps riders in 2015 with the final meeting of the year being at Te Aroha on Friday 25 September. These factors have meant the Committee has spent considerable time determining what is an appropriate penalty for Mr Studd’s breach of the Rule.
The Committee has reviewed the films of the race and believe the severity of the breach is at the low end and agree with Mr Goodwin that the incident caused crowding to the two horses on the inside of Mr Studd rather than them being checked. We also note that when Mr Studd heard Ms Farr call out he immediately straightened his mount rather than continue his inward movement. Whilst Mr Studd did clearly shift in after jumping the fence near the 600m we have some sympathy with the view that Ms Farr surprisingly moved into the gap created by that outward movement when a more experienced rider may have waited to see if Mr Studd was going to move back inwards on landing. That said she was entitled to take the gap.
Mr Studd is a senior jumps rider and has an exceptional riding record having not been charged with a breach of this Rule since April 2014. The Committee is aware there have been relatively few Class D riders charged with breaches of this Rule in 2015 and that penalties imposed upon these riders are in the main, given their limited riding opportunities, not as severe as those imposed on Class A and B jockeys.
Clearly a penalty must be imposed and it must fairly reflect the severity of the breach of the Rule. However, the timing of today’s charge means the Committee is faced with a highly unusual situation and we have carefully considered the three penalty options available to us. If a suspension were to be imposed the Committee believes a suspension of more than 1 day is appropriate. Given we do not agree that any period of suspension should include part of or commence at the start of the 2016 jumps season we have discounted this option. In considering the remaining two penalty options we believe the low level severity of the incident and other mitigating factors detailed above do not justify Mr Studd not being permitted to ride on the last day of his racing season and we have therefore discounted the option of a suspension and a fine.
We have therefore decided on this occasion a fine is an appropriate penalty. In doing so the Committee wishes to very clearly state that this penalty imposed on Mr Studd should not in any way be seen by others in the industry as setting a precedent when Committees are considering the imposition of penalties in the future. The penalty imposed on Mr Studd reflects the unique set of circumstances before us today.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant: Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Studd - CLass D Rider
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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